Yes FM Morning Munch
January 6th
Fan Into Flame, Fire Building
It is the sixth day of January, the year is no longer quite new. If the statistics mean anything New Year’s resolutions are already beginning to fall by the wayside. Yesterday we talked about Paul’s New Year’s resolution for Timothy. “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” I believe two things about this statement: 1. Paul was bringing Timothy back to the moment of his conversion, to the moment when he first felt that overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit in his life 2. The frustrations and struggles of this new church’s leader reflected a larger struggle within the church itself. This is the same church that Jesus himself would address through the Apostle John in Revelation
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:4-5)
The language is different but the message is the same. That intimate, powerful burning relationship that you had with the Holy Spirit at the beginning of your walk with God, rekindle that flame. And why do we want to rekindle that flame, because it is the flame of a Spirit of Power, a Spirit of Love a Spirit of Self-discipline. It is the Spirit that dwells in those who have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Living God. It is the Spirit that came upon the Judges of Israel fulfilling the promises of God. Othniel, Sampson and Gideon all defended Israel by its power against overwhelming odds. Gideon is one of my favorite stories in Judges. Here is a man that was hiding in a pit when God spoke to him but when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him he (somewhat reluctantly) kindled that spark into a flame that would save his people and do it in such a way that God’s hand in it could be seen by all. As wonderful and amazing as all of those stories are, the really thrilling thing for us as brothers and sisters in Christ is that it is no longer a matter of the Spirit coming upon us, God has given us this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit entering into us as a an ever present source of power, love and self-discipline.
Paul, always the systematic writer, doesn’t just leave us hanging with this call to rekindle God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Join me as over the next few days we take a look at Paul’s Guide to Spiritual Fire Building in difficult times.
Fan Into Flame Ministries 
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